Life Without Derek
by Kiso
Summary: What if Casey's mom hadn't ever married Derek's dad? What if they weren't stepbrother and stepsister? What would the two think of each other then? Casey is Derek's nextdoorneighbor, so what happens when the two meet?
1. Very Interesting, Indeed

**Life Without Derek**

**By:** Kiso

**Summary: **What if Casey's mom hadn't ever married Derek's dad? What if they weren't stepbrother and stepsister? What would the two think of each other then? Casey is Derek's next-door-neighbor, so what happens when the two meet?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the show. I own the story. Thank you!

I've never written a Life With Derek fic, and I barely watch the show, but I hope you guys will like this new fun idea from the mind of Kiso!  
-----------------------------------

**Chapter One:  
Very Interesting, Indeed**

**CASEY**

I could hear Lizzie's iPod blaring as the car slowed to a stop. She always turned it up way too loud. I tell her it'll hurt her ears, but she usually just rolls her eyes and walks away. I look out the window and gasp. The house we're moving into is really pretty.

My mom stopped the car, turned around, and smiled at us. "Ready, girls?"

I grimaced. I hadn't wanted to move away from our beautiful apartment, away from all my great friends. But since my mom would get more money this way, we had to. I sighed and said, "Sure. Let's go."

I nudged Lizzie and she took the headphones out of her ears. "We're here already?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

As soon as Lizzie got out of the car, she squealed. "I love it! It's so awesome!" She ran towards the house, opening the door and running inside. "Wow!" she yelled from inside.

My mom smiled at me. "I'm sorry, Casey. But you'll learn to like it! I promise. And, hey, at least you'll get your own room now!" I shrugged and started to take my few suitcases out of the trunk of the car.

"Our furniture is already inside, right?" I asked my mom, not really looking at her. She nodded and I entered the house. It was pretty nice, but I didn't really feel like admiring anything right now. I felt like organizing and cleaning and dusting. I sighed and walked into the room I had picked out months ago.

All my furniture was already in there, so I just let my suitcases fall to the floor as I collapsed onto my bed. When I closed my eyes, I could almost believe that I was back home, hanging out with my best friend, researching something for a school project, playing some silly board game with Lizzie and Mom.

I turned over so that I was looking at the ceiling. I groaned and got up, ready to take a long, hot shower after that too-long, too-hot drive. Remembering that all my stuff was still in the suitcases, I randomly pulled one open and grabbed some necessary clothes and nearly ran to the shower.

And as soon as the water from the shower hit me, new waterworks ran down my face.

---

I pulled my hair out of the towel and started to blow-dry it, the hot air making me shiver. Showers always relaxed me so much; I loved the feeling I got after them. I felt so clean and refreshed and new. I dressed and went to my room, starting to unpack.

After everything was done and organized, I looked around. It looked the same as it had in the apartment. Except Lizzie's stuff wasn't in here. I sighed. My mom was right: at least I got my own room.

I moved to the window and pulled up the dusty blinds. I would have to clean those later. I groaned as soon as the blinds were up. My window only looked out to another window. Probably a guy's room; everything was in a mess all over the floor and pictures of half-naked girls were all over the wall.

My guess was proven right as a guy without a shirt walked in. I could feel myself blushing as he saw me. I fumbled with the blinds but finally managed to get them down.

Well. I can't wait to meet our neighbors.

---

**DEREK**

Ugh. This was so annoying. These freshmen had no idea how to play hockey. I groaned and threw down my hockey stick, walking away.

"Dude! Where are you going?" Sam called after me.

"Home! This is so damn annoying!" I yelled back, not turning around.

"We're supposed to be helping the new hockey recruits!"

I shrugged, still walking away. "Like I give a shit!"

"Derek!" Sam yelled.

I waved at him and hopped into my dad's extremely outdated car. God, he seriously needed, like, a sports car or something. This thing was a piece of shit.

When I pulled into our driveway, I noticed a car in the driveway of the house that used to be for sale. I hope a hot girl moved in. A hot girl who takes her shirt off in front of the window. Damn, that would be sweet.

I stepped out of the car and walked into the house.

"Derek? What are you doing here so early?" my little brother, Edwin, asked me.

"Freshmen too damn annoying," I started to climb the stairs to my room. I entered my room and smirked. It was so completely..._me_. I grabbed a new pairs of boxers and went to go take a shower.

I shook my hair out and threw my towel on the bathroom floor next to a pile of other ones. Dad or Edwin could pick those up later.

I went into my room and noticed that the next door window's blinds were up. I smirked as I saw a brunette girl trying to pull the blinds down when she took in my half-naked figure. A blush came across her cheeks as the blinds finally went down.

Well, well, well. This was going to be very interesting, indeed.

---

**CASEY**

I swiveled around in my computer chair, having nothing else to do. I had already organized my books for Monday, memorized my schedule and the map, done all the necessary reading, and even looked the school up on an online map.

"CASEY!" my mom called from downstairs. "Come down here!"

I hopped out of the chair and bounded down the stairs, glad to have something to do. "Yeah, Mom?"

"I'm going to meet our neighbors. Do you want to come along?" she asked me, her jacket folded over her arm.

"Is Lizzie going?"

"No, she doesn't want to. So, you up for it?"

"Sure. Let me go grab my jacket," I said, already heading for the stairs. I grabbed my jacket off my bed and smiled at my mom as I walked down the stairs. "Let's go!"

We walked over to the house where I had seen the guy and I tried to keep my blush away. My mom noticed.

"Casey, you okay? You look kind of red," she said, looking worried.

"I'm fine! It's just the cold," I answered, smiling.

She nodded her head and knocked on the door. A small boy, probably about Lizzie's age, answered the door.

"Um. Hi," he said.

"Hello. We're your new neighbors. Are your parents home?" my mom asked politely.

"Yeah, my dad's home," he said. He turned around and yelled, "DAD! THE NEW NEIGHBORS ARE HERE TO SAY HELLO!" He turned back to us and said, "He'll be just a sec. Come on in."

My mom entered the house and I followed her lead. It was a nice, cozy home, if a bit messy. The boy raised his eyebrows at me and said, "Hi, I'm Edwin."

I smiled. "Hi. I'm Casey."

A tall man with shaggy blonde hair came out of the kitchen and said, "Oh. Hello. I'm George! Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Yes, hi. I'm Nora. Thank you," my mom said, a bit flustered. She didn't like this guy, did she? Oh, God. I hoped not.

A small girl with flowing brown hair and a princess wand bounded down the stairs, smiling a toothy smile. "Hiya! I'm Marty! This is my castle!" she said, waving the wand around. I smiled but the smile disappeared as the boy I saw in the window appeared at the top of the stairs, still without a shirt.

I looked away, again trying not to blush. But I couldn't ignore him as he came to stand right in front of me.

He smirked. "Derek."

I grimaced. "Casey."

This was going to be quite a year. I just didn't know it yet.

------------------------  
Well, how do you guys like the beginning so far? I hope it got your attention, because if it didn't, I won't continue!

**A / N: **Casey lives in-between Derek and Emily so they don't share a driveway, okay? Just wanted to clear that up so you guys wouldn't be confused!

Toodles!

Kiso


	2. Chaser, Chasee

Well, chapter one was a hit, so here's chapter two!

Thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all!

Chapter two! Yay!  
-----------------------------------

Chapter Two:  
Chaser, Chasee

CASEY

I looked at my wrist watch for what seemed like the millionth time as I prayed to God that my mom would get up and say, "Okay, Case, let's go." But my mom was too busy talking to George.

I looked up from behind my bangs at Derek again. He was still smirking at me, and I absolutely hated it. I stood up and looked at George. "Um, where's your bathroom?"

"Upstairs, end of the hall," he answered, smiling warmly at me.

I smiled back. "Thank you." I headed toward the stairs, happy to be able to get away from all that family vibe. I hadn't felt it since Mom and Dad divorced, and it suffocated me. I entered the bathroom.

It was a small bathroom, with towels in a pile on the ground and toothpaste in the sink. I smiled. It was the only mess that I didn't feel like cleaning; it was a cozy, natural mess.

I didn't know what to do in the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and...well...sat there. Even though I tried to push them out, thoughts swam around in my head. Why had I disliked Derek right away? That was so unlike me. Why was he smirking at me? Why did I think he was such a creep? I didn't even know him.

A knock came on the door. "Casey?"

I cringed. Derek. I opened the door and...there he was. His nose was barely six inches away from mine. I could smell the faint scent of Axe wafting off of him. I tried to speak, but he beat me to it.

"Your mom wanted me to come get you. She says she wants to go visit the other neighbors," he said. He stayed there for a second longer, his deep chocolate-brown eyes searing into me, and then he walked away, into his room.

No, I told myself, you are not going to blush. You are not going to blush. I walked down the stairs dizzily, holding onto the railing for support. I could not feel this just because of that look he had given me, right?

Right?

---

Luckily, our other neighbors had a daughter my age, Emily, and we clicked immediately.

When we were up in her room, she said, "So, did you meet Derek?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

She smiled. "You like him, don't you?"

"No way! He seems like such a jerk..." I trailed off.

"Sure."

I looked away from her, not letting her see the light pink flush that was on my cheeks. I didn't like him. I just hated talking about this kind of stuff.

Yeah, that's it.

---

DEREK

I knocked on the door and she opened it in a split second. She stared at me, probably still thinking about my half-naked self. I stared back at her and then waked away, playing my trick on her. Nobody could resist these eyes.

I smirked as she walked down the stairs like she was drunk. Drunk on Derek. Ha. Sounds hot.

I bet her and Emily are talking about me.

---

I peeked through her window. She sat at her computer, typing up an e-mail. I sat at my window, smirking and waiting for her to turn around.

She did, as if on cue. She blushed again and ran to close to blinds, but not before I winked and closed mine. All part of my game.

---

CASEY

Argh! Does he have to be right there? I closed my blinds and went back to my e-mail to my best friend back home.

I hope I don't have any classes with him.

---

I woke up Monday at six o'clock, thirty minutes before I had planned to. I turned off my alarm so it wouldn't go off later and went through my morning routine. At 6:25, I found myself sitting on my bed, my stuff ready, hair combed, outfit on, and nothing left to do. I didn't want to go to school a full hour early, so I had to just sit there.

My phone beeped. I looked at the little screen. One new test message. Emily.

Hey!, it read, You up yet? Sorry if ur not! But just wanted to kno if u wanted to walk to school with me. Unless ur still sleepin lol.

I replied, Yeah, totally! I woke up really early and now I have nothing to do. Meet me outside in ten minutes.

I wrote a quick note to my mom and bounded out of the door, eager for school. Emily was waiting for me on the sidewalk, and I smiled as I walked up to her.

"What classes do you have?" she asked me.

I went through my schedule that I had already memorized and her eyes widened in shock.

"All AP and Honors classes? Wow. I only have AP Algebra fifth hour," she said, frowning.

"So we at least have one class together!" I smiled. At least I would have one friend through this ordeal.

---

I stormed out of the office. Emily was waiting for me, and her face became worried as she took in my angry look.

"What happened?" she asked me, concerned.

"They can't get me a locker!" I replied, extremely irritated.

Emily looked like she was at a loss until she said, "Share my locker!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's not fair that you can't get a locker. I bet there are tons; this school is just stingy!" she smiled at me.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You are the best!" I ran over and hugged her.

"It's nothing. That's what friends are for, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah. Friends."

---

DEREK

As I talked to a hot blonde named Kelly or Katy or something, I saw her. She was walking with Emily, smiling and clutching her books to her chest.

The blonde was saying something, but I didn't hear her. "Hello? Derek? I asked you a question."

I snapped back into reality and said, "Yeah, Katy. Sure."

"It's Kimmy."

"Sure. I gotta go," I said, weaving around her. I was almost there, almost close enough to touch her sleeve. I stopped myself; I didn't even like this girl. I turned on my heel and walked away.

What the hell was wrong with me? Girls chased me; I never chased them.

---

CASEY

I was starting my homework just as my phone beeped. I pulled it out; I had a new text message from an unknown number. I flipped open my phone.

It read: hey babe. do u rlly need that top?

I spun around in the chair. There he was again, half-naked. I wanted to run up and shut the blinds, but...I couldn't. I sort of liked him looking at me, and being able to look at him. He held his cell phone, smirking at me through the glass.

I turned around so he couldn't see my blush. Okay, so maybe I thought he was cute. Just a little bit. I picked up my phone again and typed back, Don't count on it!

-------------------------  
Short chapter, I know! But next chapter, Derek and Casey will be stuck together...alone! I'm really looking forward to writing it!

Kiso


	3. Shakespeare

**Chapter Three:**  
**Shakespeare**

**CASEY**

No, no, no, I prayed silently as the teacher rattled off partners. Anybody but him. Anybody. Please.

"Derek Venturi and," she paused, as if I didn't know who would come next, "Casey McDonald."

"Of course," I said under my breath as he sat down next to me.

"Hey, babe. What's good?" he asked.

"Not this pairing," I said as I glanced up at the clock. Over thirty minutes left. Damn.

"So you got a problem with me, huh?" Derek asked, staring at me.

"Sort of. I was never really into obnoxious, self-centered jerks," I said, twirling my pencil around in my hands.

He grabbed my hand and, for a second, I liked the feel of his warm fingers on mine. But then I remembered who he was and I jerked away.

"Sorry. I hate those kind of nervous habits. I'm guessing you have a lot of those," Derek said, not unkindly.

"Um. Sort of. I just…stress a lot, I guess," I said, not really looking at him. "We should get started."

"Yeah…um…what are we doing?"

We're going to be a _super_ pair.

--

**DEREK**

"You got any plans for tonight?" Sam asked, leaning on the wall by my locker.

I thought for a second. "Don't think so."

"Cool. I'll be at your place 'round five, okay?" he said, not even having to ask if he could come. I'd known Sam for so long that he was practically my brother. "See you later." Sam said, walking away.

"See ya," I said, winking at a short blonde girl. She squealed when she thought I couldn't hear.

I saw Casey at her locker and decided to bug her.

"Hey, Case," I said, smirking at her.

"Hello, Derek," she said, stuffing her books into her plain blue backpack. "Listen. I think we should get together to work on the paper. It would be…easier that way."

"Hey, if you wanted to go on a date, you could just be direct, you know. That's sexy in a girl," I said.

"Whatever. I'll be over at five. Does that sound good?" she said, not even looking at me.

"Yup," I answered, watching her walk away, a strange feeling filling me. Girls did not walk away from me. Ever.

Until this one…

--

**CASEY**

I mumbled to myself, angry at the teacher, angry at Derek, and for some reason even angry at myself. I didn't notice someone was right in front of me until I'd crashed right into them, falling back onto my ass.

I sighed. What a day. "I'm sorry. Wasn't watching where I was going," I looked up, and there was a hand sticking out. Attached to the hand was an amazingly muscular arm, attached to an impressive body, from what I could see with the shirt. And all of it was topped off by a gorgeous mop of sandy blonde hair and a smile as bright as the sun.

"Don't worry about it. You okay?" he said, helping me up and then picking up my books.

"Oh yeah," I said, staring. I couldn't help it. I could've baked cookies on the boy; he was that hot.

"I'm Sam, by the way. Here's your stuff," he handed me my books.

"Thanks. I'm, um, Casey. Nice to meet you," I said.

"You new?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to show you around sometime?"

Like on a date? I wondered. I smiled and said, "What did you have in mind?"

"How about Saturday? I'll pick you up," he said, smiling cutely.

Gosh, I could've just melted. "Sounds good."

"I'll see you later," he said, smiling again and walking away.

I had entered my house a few minutes later when I suddenly realized that he didn't know where I lived! "Crap," I said out loud. I turned around, facing the street, even though I knew that he wouldn't be there. I sighed. "I'll just try and find him at school tomorrow."

I went into my house. Nobody was home yet, so I decided to shower and finish homework before I went over to Derek's.

Oh, how I wish I hadn't.

--

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped up in a towel but with a bra and panties underneath. I threw the towel on my bed and walked over to my vanity when I saw something that made my heart stop, then speed up like I was on PCP.

I turned away from the vanity, toward the window and I saw Derek Venturi standing at his window, looking through mine, where the blinds were up for once, smirking.

"Oh, my God," I whispered. I was frozen. I couldn't go over to the window and pull down the blinds. But I didn't have to.

For some reason, Derek pulled down his blinds, a strange look on his face.

--

**DEREK**

I pulled down the blinds on Casey's half-naked figure.

I turned away, glancing at the half-naked chick on my wall. I could stare at her forever, but I couldn't even look at Casey that way for a full minute. Any other girl, I would've gawked. But with Casey…it was different. When I'd seen her like that, I'd felt…

…_dirty_.

"Ugh," I said, running my hand through my hair and sitting down on my bed. I flipped through my texts, all from hot girls, telling me to call them, flirting with me, and then I saw the one text from Casey.

My phone pinged and I saw that I had gotten another text message from her.

_I'm coming over._

_Why? _I replied.

I could almost feel the sigh as she replied, _The project._

I heard a knock at the front door. I got off the bed but then sat back down. Got up. Down. Up. Down. I'd never been this nervous, I realized. Not for any test, not for any girl, not for _anything_. And now, here I was, freaking out because some random new girl was coming over to work on a project.

I took a deep breath and went downstairs, where Casey was setting up her books on the dining room table and Edwin was fussing around her, asking her if she wanted anything.

"No, I'm fine. But thank you," Casey replied, smiling, not a hint of impatience in her voice. She spotted me and her cheeks turned a light pink. "Hi, Derek."

"Yo. So, what are we writing our paper on?" I said, trying not to think about what I'd seen. It was really hard.

There was a knock on the door again. "Edwin, door!"

Edwin popped his head out of the kitchen and glared at me. "You're standing."

I groaned and answered the door. Sam was standing there, smiling his ass off. "Hey."

**CASEY**

"Hey," I heard Sam say.

"Oh my gosh," I said quietly while I quickly packed up my stuff and headed into the kitchen. "Hi, Edwin," I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" he whispered back.

I shook my head. "No clue. Do you have a back way?"

"Um…yeah. You leaving?"

I nodded. "Thank you," I mumbled, quickly ducking out of Derek's house. I was entering my own house the back way when I realized that I didn't even know why I'd just done that. I shook my head, thinking about going back.

I shook my head again. What was Sam doing at Derek's house? Were they friends? What would Sam have thought if he'd seen me at Derek's house? I ran up to my room and looked out of my window. Derek was walking into his room, Sam coming in behind him. Derek threw me a questioning look, while Sam squinted his eyes at me, trying to see who I was.

I quickly pulled down my blinds.

About an hour later, my phone rang. New text message. I flipped the phone open and there was Derek's name with just '_??'_ as the message.

I thought it over and replied, _I didn't feel good._

_Bull._

_So what? We can just work on the project some other day._

_Now._

_What?_

_Work on the project now._

_Why?_

_Dates the rest of this week._

I rolled my eyes as I replied. _Fine, but you better work._

_Suresure._

I grabbed my stuff and stomped down the stairs.

"Casey? Where are you going?" my mom asked from the living room couch. Lizzie poked her head out of the kitchen.

"School project with Derek," I grumbled.

My mom smiled. "Have fun."

_As if_, I thought to myself, but I smiled at her as I walked out.

Derek opened the door before I could even get all the way to the door. "Well, it wasn't that hard to convince you to come, was it?" he smirked.

I ignored him and set up my stuff on the dining room table. "Let's get to work."

"Yes, m'am," he fake saluted. "So…a research paper on Shakespeare's life?"

I nodded and pulled a notebook out of my backpack. "I'll do his early years, and you can do his life around the time that he started writing his plays, okay?" I looked up, to make sure he was listening to me, and he was right there, right in front of me, staring at me.

I wanted to look away. I wanted to roll my eyes. I wanted to tell him to get working. But all I could do was stare back, into his chocolate brown eyes and wonder what he was thinking about.

**DEREK**

She was cute; I had to give her that. Hot, too. She blushed and grabbed a pencil and a notebook, shoving them both at me. "Work," she mumbled as she got started.

"I don't know anything about Shakespeare," I admitted.

She sighed, smiling, and took a stack of papers out of her backpack. "Here. This should be all you need."

I picked up the stack and then dropped it onto the table, sending a few papers flying. "Why the hell was this guy so important?"

"Ever heard of Romeo and Juliet?" Casey muttered, writing something, not looking at me.

"Yeah. So?"

"He wrote that. Along with thirty seven other plays and one hundred fifty four sonnets."

"Hm. Again, so?"

She shook her head. "Derek. He entertained people, he educated people, he…wrote some of the best pieces of literature in history! He was amazing, Derek! That's why we're writing this paper, and that's the only reason I'm even here!"

I smirked. "I don't think that's the only reason, cupcake."

Casey looked at me and then suddenly started laughing, cracking up, actually. "Cupcake?" she managed to get out through giggles.

"Extremely sweet, extremely delicious," I said smoothly, smirking again.

She blushed, probably remembering me seeing her half-naked. "Shut up," she murmured half-heartedly. "Work," she said, glancing sharply at me.

"Okay," I said softly, staring at her while she worked.

--

**CASEY**

My phone pinged and I jumped a little. I checked my clock. Nearly midnight. _Who would text me this late?_ I thought to myself as I checked my phone.

_Derek_, the screen said. I flipped it open. _Finished the papr._

I rubbed my eyes, wondering why he couldn't just wait till later to tell me. Then I realized that he must've been working on it ever since I'd left. _Cool. Now you have all the time you need for your dates_, I replied, feeling weird as I tapped out 'dates.'

_Good nite cupcake_, was all I got back. I blushed a little bit and then told myself to forget about. It was just a silly word. Just a stupid nickname. It was just a dessert! He probably called tons of girls cupcake. I laughed to myself and nestled into my covers.

And then I secretly hoped to myself that I was his only cupcake.

--

Gosh, I feel like nobody reads this story anymore! Haha. Well, I hope people still read this one because I like this story!

My reviewers keep me going! Seriously every time I look at all the amazing things you guys, I get so happy!! Thanks for inspiring me, everybody!


	4. Distractions

**Chapter Four:**  
**Distractions**

**DEREK**

I sat down next to Casey and smirked when she half-rolled her eyes. "So what now?"

She looked confused for once and she blushed slightly. "W-what do you mean?"

I smirked again. I was getting to her. Her shell isn't as hard as I'd thought. "What are we going to do in class? We're already done with the project."

"O-oh. Well, I'm going to finish some homework that I have. You can…um…do whatever," she replied, taking a math book out of her backpack.

My eyebrows furrowed. How could she act like she didn't care that I was sitting so close to her? It pissed me off. Girls fell head over heels for me as soon as I even looked at them. It's not like she's any different. She's just really good at hiding her feelings, I told myself.

I snatched her math book and leafed through it.

She sighed. "Derek, please. Give it back. I'm not in the mood."

I looked up at her. "Are you ever?"

Her cheeks turned bright pink and her eyes narrowed. "Just…please."

"Why are you always so wound up?" I asked her, licking my finger and turning a page in her book.

She turned away from and grabbed a notebook out of her backpack, opening to a page and starting to write furiously in it.

"What the—are you writing me a note?" I had to clamp my lips together to keep from laughing. A note. How third grade.

"No. I'm writing down my homework assignments," she replied crossly.

I leaned forward to get a better look at her notebook. "That's a bunch of scribbles."

Casey looked at me and seriously it looked like she was going to bite my head off. This girl has some anger management issues, I thought as our eyes met. I leaned forward more and said, "Calm down. Here. Take your book." I leaned away and patted her head. "Girls. So weird."

She laughed, clutching her book to her chest. "Look who's talking. The definition of weird."

Planet Earth, I made Casey McDonald laugh.

--

**CASEY**

I walked down the hallway and stopped at my locker, opening it and quickly shoving my books inside. Finally lunch time, I thought with a smile.

"Hey! I've been looking for you!" a voice behind me said.

I turned around, wondering who it was since I didn't exactly recognize the voice. I smiled as my eyes landed on Sam. "Hey," I said simply.

"You have lunch this hour?" he asked, walking towards me. I nodded. "Cool. Me too. Wanna sit together?"

"S-sure. Who do you usually sit with?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't say Derek.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I'll sit wherever you're sitting."

I smiled and my cheeks got kind of hot. "Okay," I said lamely.

We sat at a table away from everybody else. Sam sat down but I hesitated. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Changed your mind?"

"A-about sitting with you? No! I…I just…don't want to, um, take you away from your friends. You can go sit with them if you want," I said softly.

He smiled at me, his blue eyes like the sky on a sunny day. "I want to sit with you."

"Okay," I said again just as lamely, sitting down across from him.

As me and Sam talked, I became more and more comfortable around him. He was so easy to talk to. He was always smiling and laughing, and he used his hands a lot when he was talking. And he was cute. Oh gosh, was he cute.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and I gasped. I hadn't even eaten! Neither had Sam! I looked at him. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I—I hadn't even realized! A-are you hungry? Oh, I'm really sorry!"

He chuckled and took my hand lightly, helping me out of my seat. "Don't worry about it. I had eye candy," he said, winking and walking away.

I felt my face turn hot as it had ever been. Wow.

Can you say _melt_?

--

**DEREK**

I was almost out the door when my dad popped his head out of the kitchen and said, "Derek, where are you going?"

"Somewhere," I answered impatiently, sticking one foot on the front porch.

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Pretty much," I lied. I couldn't have cared less about my homework. "I'll be back later," I said dismissively, stepping out of the house and closing the door before he could say anything else.

I got into the car and drove over to Sam's house. I'd barely talked to him since that day he came over…the same day Casey and I worked on our paper. My eyebrows furrowed and I shook my head. Why the hell was I thinking about her?

Sam walked out of his house as I walked out of the car.

"Hey," he said, surprised.

"Hey. Where you going?"

"Freshmen hockey practice. You should be going there, too," he said.

I scoffed. "Whatever. Those freshmen get on my nerves. They don't know shit."

"You used to be like that."

"Yeah, centuries ago. I'm a beast now. So, come on. Ditch with me. Don't be such a wuss."

He shook his head. "I've flaked on all of the other practices. They need more upperclassmen."

I groaned. "When did you become such a pansy? Whatever. Get in. I'll drive you there."

As I drove Sam to the school, I noticed he was acting weird. Like spacing out, something he never did. I would ask him a question and he would just stare out of the window.

"Dude, are you on drugs?" I asked as he missed another one of my questions.

"What?" he replied, probably for the tenth time in five minutes.

"Why are you all spacey?"

"No reason," he said quickly. A bit too quickly. I was about to ask him again when we got to school, but he practically jumped out of the car and hastily waved goodbye to me.

"What a weirdo," I muttered to myself. I sighed and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, starting to flip through my contacts. Amy, Ashley, Brittany, Bianca, Carrie…Casey. I stopped at her name then quickly pushed past it. There were hotter girls I could get a quick date with, not some lecture on the importance of doing my homework or some other thing that Casey would say.

But even as I thought about how annoying she was, I found myself smiling. I frowned when I caught myself. "Okay. Kelly," I said, dialing her number.

She picked up with a shrill, "Hello?"

"Hey, babe. Meet me in front of the school?" I said coolly, so used to doing this.

"Sure!" she answered right away, then adding a quick, "Be right there."

I hung up without saying anything and stared out the window, waiting for her to get there. Red car, blue car, white car, silver car, red car, Casey was wearing that color shirt today, black car.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

I grumbled to myself until I heard a quiet tap on my window. I opened the car door and Kelly slipped in, her blonde hair spilling over her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow and I edged closer, not wanting to waste any time.

I planted my lips on hers and relaxed mentally. Exactly what I needed.

--

**CASEY**

Emily sat on my bed and flipped through her history book, looking like it was so boring she wanted to cry. She slammed the book shut, startling me.

"Shouldn't we study? We have a test tomorrow," I said, looking up from my own textbook.

She waved her hand. "Blah. Casey, you know you're gonna pass this test! And I just don't care! Anyways! Where were you at lunch today?"

I blushed a shade of pink and looked away from her. I had been sitting with Sam for the past few weeks, and I had told Emily I was studying, but now she was getting suspicious. "In the cafeteria."

From the corner of my eye, I saw her face light up evilly. "Oh? With who?"

My blush deepened. I didn't really like talking about guys. Emily was the complete opposite. "Somebody."

"Casey!" she groaned. "Specifics! Please?" She pouted and looked at me hopefully.

I sighed, caving. "Sam," I said so quietly I barely even heard myself.

"Sam the hockey player?" she squealed. I nodded mutely. "Oh my God he's so hot! So, so, so?"

"So what?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "So how long has this been going on?"

"Like…two weeks?"

She paused and her eyes got so wide I seriously thought they were going to pop out of their sockets. "Two weeks? And you haven't told me about it?"

"Ah, well, I-I'm telling you now! Here, I'll tell you everything. He asked me out, we sat at lunch together, our first date was dinner and a movie, our second date was at that fair last weekend, and…I really like him," I rushed through everything, hoping Emily wouldn't mind. I wasn't too good at stating details.

Emily nodded smartly, soaking up my words. A huge grin spread across her face. "Have you kissed him?"

I started to sputter and blurt out random French verb conjugations when, thank God, Lizzie knocked on the door and said, "Emily, your mom wants you to go home for dinner!"

Emily stuck out her bottom lip, pouting. She sighed and got up. But before she stepped out of my room completely, she took a step back and said, "Don't think I won't get an answer, Case."

I groaned to myself as she walked out of my room and closed the door. I turned to the mirror and stared at my reflection; I looked I had just run a marathon. My cheeks were pink, my eyes wide, and I realized that I was breathing heavily.

I closed my eyes. How could I tell Emily that I hadn't kissed Sam yet? I hadn't let his lips get anywhere near mine. I felt bad. Of course I felt bad. I really wanted to kiss Sam, but every time our faces got too close, my heart would go into overdrive and I would start sweating like crazy. At first I'd thought it was some kind of romantic attraction, but then I realized that my heart was beating to the pace of a word that always ran through my head whenever I'd thought about kissing Sam.

_No no no no._

--

Sam smiled at me and kissed my cheek as he dropped me off at my house and I opened his car door. "Thanks for the ride," I mumbled shyly as I stepped out.

He winked. "Anytime."

He drove away and I sat on my porch, not in the mood to do homework. A light breeze blew around and I reveled in the feel of the last few warm days of the year.

Suddenly I heard a crash and a high-pitched cry. My head snapped to the direction of Derek's house, where his little sister Marty was laying next to a small pink bike, clutching her knee and crying.

I didn't know what to do. I started to panic, getting up, ready to go help her, when Derek rushed out of his house. He picked Marty up, handling her so tenderly, like she could break at the slightest touch. He cradled her in his arms, kissing her forehead. Derek's face was so caring, so absolutely gentle it was like he was never the cocky, arrogant guy I knew.

And as wind blew his hair all around his face, I realized that…he was gorgeous.

_Holy crap._

I shook my head and stood up abruptly. I needed a drink.

--

**DEREK**

I sat in math class, nearly asleep, the only thing keeping me from keeling over being all the hot girls in the room. My attention peaked a little when the teacher stopped blabbing and a young guy walked in, papers in his hands.

He and the teacher whispered for a few minutes, then he turned to us and plastered a smile onto his face. "Hi, kids!"

Where the hell did he think he was? Kindergarten? I rolled my eyes as he continued talking.

"We're offering counselor spots at Camp Fun in the Sun for the next few weeks! There will be transportation provided to and from camp, and all the counselors have cabins away from the campers," he said, still smiling.

I rolled my eyes again, thinking about how much crap this all was, when I saw several of the hot girls smiling and nodding to each. A smirk crept onto my features. Hot girls were going to be at the camp. A camp usually meant a lake. A lake meant skinny dipping.

Hell. Yes.

He gave the papers to the teachers and said, "Well, I hope you'll sign up for a counselor position! Thank you for listening!" He stepped out of the room and I turned my attention to the teacher, who was passing the papers down the rows, saying something about a great opportunity.

I grabbed a form and smirked again, skimming the paper.

_Camp Fun in the Sun._  
"_Where you do things you never thought you'd do!"_

--

**These poor dears do not know what they want! Ha ha! Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

**Thank you, reviewers. Seriously, I'll make the next chapters so juicy and filled with Derek and Casey moments you might just explode!**

**(;**


	5. Partners

**Chapter Five:**

**Partners**

**CASEY**

Emily ran towards me, clutching a piece of paper, a huge grin on her face.

"What's going on?" I asked her amusedly.

"Camp Fun in the Sun!" she squealed.

She stood in front of me, smiling from ear to ear. "Are…are you high?" I finally said.

She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You haven't heard about it yet? Casey!" She shoved the paper into my hands and started talking before I could even glance at it. "We can be camp counselors there. What do you think?"

I read over the paper. "Camp counselors? For two weeks?" I looked up at Emily. "Missing school? For two weeks?"

She rolled her eyes. "You are such a nerd. You're going; I already put your name on the list!"

"What? Emily! Why? I can't miss school for two weeks!"

"Oh. My. God, Casey. You will be fine. There's only a limited number of spots and I wanted to be sure we would get to go!"

Emily looked so excited that all I could say was, "Fine."

--

**DEREK**

I ran my hand through my hair and groaned. "Dad, it's not a big deal!"

"Yes it is a big deal, Derek! Missing school for two weeks? How are you even doing in school? I mean, I haven't gotten a report card of yours since seventh grade! And now you think you can go gallivanting off to some camp for two weeks?" Dad ranted, walking back and forth in front of me.

"It'll be fine. I'll do all my work. I swear. Please, Dad."

"How can I trust that you'll do all your work?" he said, stopping and putting his hands on his hips.

"I'll ask that neighbor girl to help me; she's going too," I blurted out, not even knowing if Casey was going. She probably wasn't, I thought with a small smile. Knowing Casey, she would die if she missed two weeks of school.

"Nora's daughter?" he said, caught off guard.

"Yeah. She's really smart. She can help me."

He sighed loudly. "Fine. But if you fall behind in any of your classes, you will be grounded until you graduate."

--

**CASEY**

I leaned on my suitcase and yawned, closing my eyes. Five in the morning was way too early to get up for some camp thing.

"You're here?" came a familiar voice. An all-too familiar voice.

I opened my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Derek sat next to me and laughed. "I never thought Miss Casey 'A's are my life' McDonald would miss two weeks of school. And willingly."

"It was not willingly," I mumbled, closing my eyes again. "Em put my name on the list without me knowing."

He laughed again softly. After a few minutes, Derek patted my head and said, "Come on, Cupcake. Bus is here."

I buried my face in my bag until I was sure he was gone so that he couldn't see my blush.

"Casey!" Emily called out, running up to me, breathing heavily.

"Did you just get here?" I asked. She nodded quickly. "Well, you just barely made it." I smiled and we walked onto the bus.

"Ready for the best two weeks ever?" Emily said excitedly.

I yawned. "Sure. It's not gonna be that special."

"Oh, Casey? Haven't you heard what happens during camp?"

"That's band camp," I said flatly.

She smiled. "No; that's just the most famous one! You'll see, Case."

Is it bad that during this conversation, there was one person on my mind?

--

"Emily and Jake, Brandon and Allison, Ashley and Michael, Cody and Kelly, Heather and Sam, Derek and Casey." The main camp counselor looked up from her clipboard and smiled at us. "This will be your activity partner for the duration of your stay here. After the kids go to bed, camp counselors have an hour of discretionary time. After that, boys are to go to their cabin and the girls go to their cabin."

Was it conspiracy that I was always with Derek? Was it just because our names are next to each other in the alphabet? Was it weird that I didn't mind…?

"Each pair has a group of kids. Today, every group has a different activity. One person from each pair come here and pick an activity. The group with this activity will become your group for the rest of the time."

I picked up a piece of paper without even looking.

"What did you get?" Emily asked me, smiling broadly.

I looked down at it. "Um…a scavenger hunt. You?"

"Rock climbing! How fun, right?"

I giggled. "Em, you don't get to go rock climbing. It's for the kids."

"It's still fun! Come on Case, get into it! Oh, are you a bit sad because Sam's not your partner?" She stuck out her bottom lip. "Sorry."

I rolled my eyes. "Have fun not rock climbing!" She skipped away, smiling and waving, talking happily to her partner Jake.

I swiveled around, looking for Derek, seeing him talking—flirting, totally flirting—to a girl, as close to her as he could possibly be without actually touching her. I blew my bangs out of my face and turned towards the main camp counselor, asking her where the scavenger hunt was.

I headed down a well-traveled path and heard footsteps behind me after a while. "Oh, gosh, did you decide to join me?"

"Should I leave?"

I turned around. "No! Sam! S-sorry, I thought you were…someone else."

"I'm disappointed we're not partners," he said sweetly, coming close to me and taking my hand.

"Me-me too," I said quietly.

Sam bent down and kissed me softly on the lips. "Gotta go to my group of kids."

"O-okay," I said lamely. He smiled and walked away. I stood there for a moment until Derek walked down the path and gave me a weird look.

"You are definitely on drugs."

--

**DEREK**

I watched Casey as she told a boy that he had found a maple leaf, not an oak leaf. The boy groaned and went back into the forest, crumbling his paper angrily.

She smiled and sat next to me on our log.

"This is so lame," I said, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

"What did you expect?" Casey replied, raising her eyebrow at me.

"I…nevermind."

"This one time at band camp," Casey said breezily.

I laughed involuntarily. She was acting so weird. "Casey, what the hell are you on?"

She smiled. "What?"

"Or are you riding the magic cloud of love?" I said, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I felt strange all over. I felt even stranger as Casey blushed and leaned away. "Aww, Casey," I said quickly, trying to recover and trying to get rid of this odd feeling. "You are."

With who, though, I wanted to ask. With who?

--

**CASEY**

No, I wasn't in love! I wanted to scream. I wanted to get up and rant and say that I hadn't meant to kiss Sam and that I hadn't even wanted to come here and that I hadn't wanted to become this close to this secretly sweet jerk!

I leaned away and blushed, thinking of Sam, thinking of his kiss, thinking of Derek gingerly picking up Marty.

"Aww, Casey. You are."

Luckily, the kids came out of the forest just then.

"Hey kids!" I said quickly. "Did you guys find everything?"

"We can't find Carissa!" a little girl cried.

"O-okay, all of you go to the mess hall and Derek and I will go look for Carissa. But go straight to the mess hall!" They scattered but went in the direction of the mess hall while I looked at Derek.

"Let's go," he said simply, leading the way into the forest.

"Carissa!" I yelled. "Carissa, if you can hear me, yell or something!"

About ten minutes in, we found Carissa sitting on the forest floor, doodling on her piece of paper. "Carissa! What are you doing?" Derek said, a bit angrily.

She looked up and smiled. "Drawing."

"Go to the mess hall," he said in a voice that indicated there would be no arguing, no more sitting on dirt and drawing. Carissa blithely hopped up and skipped away, knowing her way around the trees. "Kids. My gosh. Come on, Casey."

He held out his hand for me and I playfully slapped it away.

"Oh, sorry, Princess."

"I thought I was Cupcake," I said.

"You are." He turned and started walking. "My only one, by the way."


	6. Games

**Chapter Six:**

**GAMES**

**CASEY**

I smiled at the girl and was reminded of myself in fourth grade. So innocent, so unknowing. I missed that time.

"What are we doing today, Miss Casey?" she asked me cutely.

I laughed when she called me 'Miss Casey'. It was kind of weird. "Today we are taking a hike."

"That's boring."

"No, no, it's really fun! It's like an adventure! You get to climb over big rocks and jump across rivers! It's like you're Indiana Jones!" I said excitedly.

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!" Derek joined in, walking up next to us and chuckling.

"Hi, Mr. Derek! We're taking a hike today," she said, smiling up at him.

He patted her head and said, "I know. Why don't you go catch up with your friends?" She waved to us and ran off to join the group of kids walking in front of us.

"Sup, Case?" Derek asked me, yawning in the middle of the sentence.

"Not much. Tired?"

He nodded, scratching the back of his head. "My hour of discretionary time…ran a bit late," he said, smirking.

"Did it now?" I mumbled.

"What did you do? Homework?"

I blushed and didn't even attempt to lie.

"You have got to be kidding me. Tonight you're hanging out with me."

"No thanks," I said automatically. I'd already made plans with Sam.

"Why not? I'll go slow, Case," he said, a joking lilt in his voice.

I pretended to gag. "Oh my God, I must be choking on your cologne. What are you wearing? Eau de Asshole? I'm hanging out with Emily," I found myself lying to him for no apparent reason. I frowned to myself. Why wouldn't I be able to tell him that I was hanging out with Sam?

--

Sam took my hand and smiled at me. "You okay?"

I nodded and stepped over some branches. "Fine."

"Okay, now close your eyes."

"Is that safe?"

He laughed. "Come on, Casey. I won't let you fall."

I reluctantly closed my eyes and said, "You better not."

He kissed me quickly and chuckled. "You're gonna love this." He led me along for a few more minutes before finally saying, "Okay. Open your eyes."

I did and was greeted by a sparkling lake and a crescent moon reflecting off of it. "Wow," I said simply. "It's really pretty."

"Yeah. We went swimming today and I thought you might like it."

"Aww. You were thinking about me?" I asked sarcastically, laughing.

"When am I _not_?"

I laughed harder. "Good line, good line."

"Why, thank you," he said, closing the space between us and putting his hand under my chin, kissing me softly, wrapping his arms around my waist. He pulled away and gave me a questioning look. "What's wrong, Casey?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You're barely kissing me," he said.

"S-sorry," I murmured. "We took a…a hike today and I guess I'm just kind of worn out."

He nodded knowingly. "Just a little bit more and then we can go back, okay?"

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to sigh. I didn't want to kiss him anymore. I wanted to climb into bed and fall asleep and wake up and spend the day with…with my awesome kids!

**DEREK**

"What do you say, Venturi?" the blonde asked brazenly, running her finger down my bare chest.

"The pants stay on," I said, smirking.

She pouted. "Then my bra stays on."

"We'll see about that," I said, pushing her into the water and jumping in after her.

She giggled quietly and swam to me, putting her arms around my neck and pressing herself against me. I smirked as I thought of myself asking Casey to hang out with me. Shit, would I rather be talking to Casey or making out with this hot bimbo?

Shit, when did that question get hard to answer?

--

I jumped again as one of the little girls screamed—_again_—then relaxed as I realized that she was just messing around.

"Derek, why are you so nervous?" Casey asked me, glancing at me for a moment before turning to watch the kids again.

"Can these kids even swim? I don't think I knew how to swim in fourth grade...I don't want any of them drowning on my watch!"

She laughed. "Nothing is going to happen. Don't worry." She thought about something for a while before saying, "You didn't know how to swim in fourth grade?"

"Shut up."

"Aww, Derek!"

"Fuck off."

"Do you know how to swim now? Do you want me to teach you?" she said mockingly, a fake caring look on her face, her hand lightly on my forearm.

I smirked and scooped her up into my arms bridal style before she even knew what was going on.

"D-Derek? Oh my God, no, don't!" She held onto me tightly and buried her face in my shoulder.

"Scared? Don't know how to swim?" I asked her, grinning at her shaking figure.

"I do but come on, Derek! Please don't!"

I sighed and put her down on the dock, right next to the edge. I sat across from her and laughed. "How did it feel being that close to me?"

She pushed me into the water and walked away, yelling, "Ten more minutes, kids!"

--

I grabbed Casey's arm and covered her eyes as she was walking back to her cabin. She squeaked and ripped my hand off of her face. She turned around to face me, breathing heavily.

"What the fuck, Derek? You scared the shit out of me!" she whispered angrily.

I laughed as the curse words streamed out of her mouth. "It's our discretionary time. Come on."

"No," she said simply but she made no move to walk away.

"No? No?" I repeated, grinning. She nodded. I sighed and scooped her up into my arms again.

"Oh, what the fuck!" she said, running a hand through her hair. "Put me down!"

"No," I said as simply as she had. "You're lighter than a feather, Case."

"Where are we going?" she asked. I noted her use of 'we', meaning that she wouldn't object to going there.

"Anywhere you want. I have a condom in my back pocket; I'm always prepared."

She didn't respond, just shook her head and swung her legs peacefully.

"The lake," I said truthfully.

"O-oh," she said suddenly.

"What?"

"N-nothing."

When we got to a secluded part of the lake, I let her down gently and she sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees.

I sat down next to her.

"Wanna go skinny dipping?" Casey said, smirking.

"You're not ready for that, Cupcake."

She smiled warmly and said, "I'm having fun here."

"You're not freaking out? How much homework do you have left?"

She blushed, as I knew she would, and turned back to the lake. She turned to me and I turned to her and she leaned forward and I leaned forward and we were so close to each other and a look flashed through her eyes and she said, "Let's go before it gets too dark."

"Casey," I said, grabbing her arm before she could get up. I put my hand on her cheek and gosh she looked cute, gosh she looked confused, gosh I just fucking wanted to kiss her.

"You're funny, Derek."

What? Did she think I was joking? "I know, right?" I said, letting her go and smirking. "Want me to lead you back?"

"No, thanks. I'll find my way. Night, Derek."

"Night."

I ran my hands through my hair and buried my face in my palms. _Fuck_. I needed to get over this dumb little thing with Casey. I got up and walked to the dock of the lake, knowing that there would be some girls down there.

--

**CASEY**

I stumbled to the cabin and shook the thoughts out of my head. Derek was just kidding, right? He just wanted to reel me in and then laugh at me when he realized he had me in the palm of his hand just like every other girl.

But I wouldn't let him play me. I wasn't a game.

--

**DEREK**

"Find any girls, D?" Sam asked me nonchalantly when I got back from the lake.

"Nah. I mean, not really" I added quickly. "You?"

"Mm…I think so. I don't know."

"Who?" I asked, running my hand through my hair.

"That new girl. Casey."

"O-oh…really…" I said dumbly, at a loss.

"I know she's your partner or whatever. Do you…like her?"

I turned to him and scoffed. "Nah. You, you know. She's just like all the others. She's just a game."


	7. Ground Level

**Chapter Seven:**

**GROUND LEVEL**

**DEREK**

"Don't be afraid. Just grab onto the rocks and…um…climb the…wall?" Casey tried explaining rock climbing to the kids, but she was failing miserably.

"Have you ever been rock climbing?" a little boy asked her.

She laughed nervously. "Not…not really."

"Go sit down," the kid said dismissively. "Let this guy help us. He knows what he's doing." The kid pointed at the buff guy holding the harness.

Casey sat down next to me. "Well, I feel like an idiot."

"You say that like it's new for you," I replied, still looking at the kids.

She didn't argue or get mad. I really wanted her to; I liked seeing her get all worked up. Her uptightness was too funny. I kept thinking about Sam. He had a thing for Casey. But it wasn't like he'd made his move or anything. Or like I was going to. Or what the fuck. Why was I tiptoeing around Casey? When had I ever been like this around a girl? Stupid.

"Casey, you're hanging out with me again tonight," I said easily.

"So I don't have a choice again," she murmured.

I noticed that her answer didn't mean no. "I didn't hear you complaining when I carried you around. But then again, if you have homework to do, I understand," I teased, putting my hand sarcastically over my heart.

She looked away quickly.

"Unless you…oh my…oh my God, you already finished it all, didn't you?" I could barely contain my laughter. "You are so...so Casey."

She looked at me, smiling and blushing.

…

"You know, there's not much to do at night in the middle of a forest," Casey said as we walked down a narrow path.

"Oh, Casey, we could always find something." I smirked at her.

She stepped in front of me and smiled. "You're right, Derek," she said softly, walking towards me. "We could." She stepped closer and closer, until her nose was nearly touching mine. "Why don't we?"

I leaned towards her but she pushed me away. "Oh, yeah, I know! Because I'm not completely stupid," she said, laughing at me.

"Man, you are a bitch," I said, running my hand through my hair.

"Mm," she mumbled, unfazed.

Things suddenly became extremely awkward for some reason.

"Have you ever had a serious girlfriend?" Casey asked after a while.

"Um…uh…what? Why?" I blurted out.

"Just making conversation I guess. Just wondering."

I mockingly took her hand and said, "Don't worry, Case, you'll always have a special place in my heart!"

She cracked up. "Man, you are an ass."

"I've had a few. Real girlfriends, I mean. But, I don't know. I guess none of them worked out. Wh-what about you?"

She shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I've never had a boyfriend for more than a few weeks."

I realized I was still holding her hand. I wondered if she noticed. It was comfortable and I didn't want to let it go.

"Okay, Derek, I don't want to…I can't do this," she said, pulling her hand away.

"Do what?" I asked nonchalantly, even though I understood exactly what she was talking about.

"You are the biggest jerk in school. You go through girls like they're…like they're things! Like you can use them whenever you want and switch to a new one when you get bored! And I'm not going to get sucked in."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being so dramatic."

"Why are you being so cold?"

"You think those girls complain? You know, if I found a girl that wasn't a bimbo, that didn't let me throw her around, you think I would play her? You think I would 'suck her in'?"

She didn't answer.

I understood why she was judging me so harshly, but it pissed me off to no end.

"I wouldn't." Fuck, I was going to have to say it. I was going to have to sound like an idiot and say it. For some stupid reason, Casey needed to hear it. She needed to be reassured.

Softly, I said, "I wouldn't do that to you."

"When I stop being a chase, will you stop liking me? Will you lose interest?"

I groaned and ran my hands through my hair. I put my hands on either side of her face and kissed her, kissed her like I'd wanted to, kissed her until she was leaning into me, kissed her like I didn't kiss those other girls, hopefully assuring her that I was damn serious.

"You are one annoying, persistent girl, Cupcake," I murmured as we pulled away from each other. I smiled at her.

She was blushing but she wasn't smiling. She backed away.

"What? What's wrong?"

**CASEY**

What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I let him kiss me? I can't even pretend like I didn't kiss him back! Oh man. Oh crap. What was I going to do about Sam? Were Sam and I technically going out? Oh God, was I thinking that Derek would actually go out with me? That he would drop his stupid ways and make an exception for me?

"That was bad," I muttered.

"The kiss? Um…I'm…sorry? Wanna try it again?'

I laughed despite myself. I looked at him, bit my lip, and slowly said, "No, it's just…I…I'm kind of going out with…with Sam."

"What."

It wasn't a question, just a flat what.

"You never told me?" he demanded, getting angry.

I felt myself make a face. "What? I don't answer to you!"

"You could've fucking told me you were with my best friend! You flirted with me, you let me kiss you, you totally kissed me back! What the hell? And you think I'm the one that's going to play you? Get off your fucking high horse, Casey." He turned around and walked away.

It really hurt, because he was so completely spot-on. I had liked being with Derek, and Sam was there for me to fall back on. I was worse than Derek was, because at least the girls he was with knew they wouldn't get more than a little fun. I had led Derek and Sam on. I couldn't even call after him because I felt, and rightly so, so stupid.

I ran up the path, back to the cabins, but I didn't see Derek at all. I went to Sam's cabin and knocked on the door.

He opened the door, smiling. "Hey, Casey. Done hanging out with Emily?"

I winced at the lie and softly said, "Can I talk to you?"

"Um…sure?" he said, closing the door and standing close to me.

"I…well…Derek…well, actually, I…um…I'm sorry, I've been an awful girlfriend, and all around awful person."

Sam's brows furrowed. "What about Derek?"

"We kissed. And…actually…I've liked him for a while. I didn't want to kiss you all that time because I wasn't sure how I felt about him."

"Uhhh...wow? So…you like…Derek?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"I guess so. I'm really sorry, Sam. I'm sorry I led you on."

"I wouldn't get too attached to Derek, you know," he said suddenly, his voice suddenly edged, cold.

He started talking again before I could respond.

"You're just a game to him, Casey."

I looked away from him, tears welling up. I didn't want Sam to suddenly talk Derek down. I was already upset enough.

"I know you don't want to believe it, but that's just how Derek is. You are just another girl to him, Casey. I asked him about you and all he said was, 'she's a game'. Like all the others."

When I didn't respond or look at him, he went back to his cabin, awkwardly saying, "Well, see you around."

**DEREK**

I kicked some rocks around, threw some branches into the lake, sat down on a big rock, and buried my face in my hands.

It wasn't even that I'd been played. Well, it was that, but it was that it was _Casey_. I didn't think she would ever do anything like that. I hated that I liked her, and I hated how much this whole thing bothered me.

Casey had, as much as I hated to say it, it made me feel like a dandy, but Casey hurt me. Despite that, I liked her. And I _really _wanted to kiss her again.

...

The kids were getting ready to play kickball. Casey was dividing them into teams and I threw the kickball out into the field, then sat down on a log. I scratched my head. I didn't know what to do about Casey. I didn't know what I was going to say. Or what she was going to say. Or if…oh fuck I don't have to say anything to her.

She sat down on the other side of the log. She looked at me, but I was looking at the kids.

"Sam told me what you said," she said after a few minutes.

What I said? What did I say to Sam? I racked my brain but I couldn't think of anything. I shrugged as an answer.

"About me being a game," she clarified.

When had I said that? Oh. Oh yeah. When Sam asked me if I had any girls. "So?" I said quickly.

"So you lied to me. You told me to get off my high horse when where the hell were you, Derek? On the ground, innocent?" she snapped at me.

"Or maybe I was lying to Sam. Maybe I really fucking liked you, Casey, but I didn't want him or anyone to know. And you have no right to sit here trying to make me out to be in the wrong."

Her mouth clamped shut. She knew I was right.

"You know, yeah, I really liked you. I wasn't going to hurt you and I didn't think you would do something like this. But _you're_ just as bad as you make _me _out to be."


	8. Business Partners

**Chapter Eight:**

**BUSINESS PARTNERS**

**CASEY**

I paced around the cabin, wringing my hands. Okay, one more week. One more week of awkwardness and cold looks and regret and one more week of simple time with Derek. After this week, I wasn't even sure if he would talk to me again.

I mean…well, yes, he had a right to be mad at me. Did I apologize? I couldn't remember. I ran my hands through my hair. Why was I so worried? These feelings for Derek would blow over. I would be fine. His anger would go away. And then we could be…I don't know…acquaintances? Casual neighbors?

Oh but man that kiss. _That kiss._

Emily and Ashley walked into the cabin, giving me weird looks.

"Casey…what….what are you doing?" Emily asked, stepping towards me.

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing! Just nervous about my activity today!" I lied, laughing nervously.

They looked at each other. "Marco polo in the lake?" Ashley said, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yes! It's so dangerous to have kids blindfolded in a lake! I mean, what if one of them goes out too far or one trips and falls unconsciously into the water and then they," I slowly trailed off. I inhaled deeply and said, "I'm gonna go eat some breakfast. See you guys later!" I quickly ducked out of the cabin and ran to the secluded forest path to the lake. I sat down on a log.

I couldn't tell them about what had happened. I was in the wrong, I completely knew and understood that. I didn't want anyone to know just how awful of a person I was. I sighed. I was a wreck.

My group suddenly came down the path and a little girl stopped and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong, Miss Casey?" she asked in a syrupy child voice.

"I did something bad," I said miserably. "And I hurt someone really badly."

"You hurt them?" she cocked her head, confused. "Did they bleed a lot? Could you not find a band-aid?"

I laughed softly. "No, I guess I couldn't. Now, come on, go play with your friends."

She stood up, but before she ran off, she cutely said, "Don't forget to apologize, Miss Casey! Sometimes that's better than a bandage!"

Derek brought up the rear, walking slowly behind the kids. I walked behind him for a while before he slowed down, letting me catch up.

"Hey," he said in a flat tone, no connotation attached.

"Hi," I tried to say neutrally. I failed, because the word sounded kind of hopeful. I gulped and tried to sort out the jumble of words in my head. I looked at him for a split second. He looked impartial, like he didn't care that he was standing next to me. What was he thinking? I sighed. "I don't think I said I was sorry. I'm really sorry."

"Okay," he replied.

I had tried to offer Derek a bandage, but he had backed away with just one word. I sighed quietly, defeated.

We got to the dock and picked one of the kids to be blindfolded. They jumped and squealed into the water, happily shouting "Marco!" "Polo!".

Derek and I sat on the dock, our legs dangling over the edge.

"I hate drama and I hate awkwardness. I don't care about this, Casey. I'm a camp counselor, you're a camp counselor. We talk when we need to," he said bluntly, flatly. No discussion. "What happened between us happened. Okay. Cool. Not the end of the world."

The words weren't supposed to hurt. They were brief, emotionless. They were the truth. It was hard to take them. It felt like they were all around me, laughing at me, forcing themselves into my ear. I looked at Derek; he was looking at the kids.

"You're right," I choked out, hoping that my voice wasn't too shaky. "We can be cool about this." I didn't know what else to say. Anything else would betray those last two statements, so I just looked at the kids, too, and wondered what Derek was thinking.

Well, if he could be so mature about this, I could be, too. I could treat him as just a friend. I thought about the week ahead. A week was a good amount of time to distance myself from Derek. I sighed again. Easier thought than done, Casey. But when I looked at him, his passivity apparent, I knew that I had to do it.

…

**DEREK**

I laid in the small bed and tossed and turned relentlessly. It was hot and stuffy and there were mosquitoes everywhere holy fuck they kept biting me.

I groaned and shot out of bed, running a hand through my hair and stepping outside. It was nice. A breeze cooled me but I was still jittery. I knew it was more than the heat. I walked around the cabin, not sure what else to do.

A familiar voice called my name and I walked back to the front of the cabin.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," Sam echoed, in the same simple tone.

"Can't sleep?" I asked, kicking at some rocks.

"It's too hot," he replied.

Our awkward silence was heightened by the now chilly breeze. We both knew what the other was thinking. It had always been like that. We knew each inside and out. Or, at least, I thought we did. This Casey thing had shaken our friendship.

Sam spoke first. "You didn't tell me you liked her."

I didn't want to turn this on him, but I had to say it. "You didn't tell me you were going out with her."

"You knew I liked her. And you still kissed her," he said angrily.

"Y-yeah…yeah." I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to apologize. I wasn't sorry for kissing Casey. "This is stupid. I don't want us to be mad at each other over something this dumb."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What? What is that look for?" I asked, smiling. He always gave me that look, the look that meant that he knew exactly what was going on in my head.

"You're really into her," he muttered breezily.

I didn't know how to respond; Sam could see right through my lies, and the truth was too hard to say out loud. So I just looked away, scratched the back of my neck. "Fuck," I said.

"But she was a real bitch for doing this," he continued, chuckling a little bit.

I laughed with him. "Sam, dammit, get out of my head." A soft silence settled on us and I muttered, "I'm sorry I did that to you."

He shrugged. "You've never been good at sharing."

I pushed his shoulder. "Fuck off."

He smiled and punched my shoulder in return, walking back into the cabin.

...

The whole rest of the week, I tried to talk to Casey like we had before. But she was formal and ignored my normal flirting. She was never out of her cabin at night, and I sure as hell wasn't going to go in there and embarrass myself by asking her to hang out. I felt like an idiot and I had no idea what Casey was thinking. She wasn't even her uptight, brainy, annoying self. She was just...damn...she was just there, talking to me like nothing had ever happened. Kind of like...like...

Kind of like I'd told her to...

Dammit, Derek. You're an idiot.

…

The night before we left, we threw a little party for the kids. Really, it was only a bonfire and smores. At the end of the night, I grabbed Casey and pulled her aside.

"Hi, Derek," she said casually.

"Let's take a walk. For old time's sake," I replied just as casually.

"Um…okay. Whatever." She started walking the path.

"So, Casey," I started awkwardly. I didn't know how to say it without sounding stupid or sappy.

I looked at her; she was looking at me, one eyebrow up, anticipating my words.

"What if we gave us a try?" I blurted out stupidly.

Her eyebrows knit together and she narrowed her eyes. She didn't say anything.

I didn't know what to do, so I just kept talking. "Umm…me and you? You know…together?"

She blinked a few times, opened her mouth, closed it again, tapped a finger to her lips, then finally said, "Okay…okay." My eyes widened and a smile started to creep across my face until she continued. "I get it."

"Huh? G-get what?"

"You're getting even. Well, um, good job, Derek. I messed with you, you're messing with me. First you're all flirty, then you're cold, then you're casual, now you're asking me out. Cool, Derek. Smart plan. Now we're even, right? Now it's not Casey tricked Derek, or Derek tricked Casey. It's they tricked each other. Awesome." She stuck out her right hand.

"W-what?" I bumbled, still thinking about and confused by her speech. She thought I was kidding? She thought I was doing this as a ploy? Why would she think that? Did I not seem sincere?

I tried to say something again but she just grabbed my right hand, shaking it like we were business partners or something.

"Well, um, see you around, Derek," she said, turning and walking away.

I would've gone after her, but I was shocked by her words. Did she think I would go so low as to play with her emotions just to get back at her? I ran my hands through my hair and thought about what Casey had said earlier, sometime before I kissed her. I was surprised I even remembered.

Something like…if she wasn't a chase, would I still be into her?

I had to seriously ask myself the question. I mean, yeah, it had been fun to flirt with Casey, it had been fun to get her to react to me. Was it just that? It couldn't be. I mean, right? I wouldn't try so hard for a girl that I was just going to dump after a little bit.

I stared at the path. I hadn't thought about quickly hooking up with other girls during this whole stupid thing. That meant I was really into Casey, right? Right? I looked around. It occurred to me that the one person I wanted to ask all these questions was the person that they involved.

"Dammit," I said loudly. "Dammit."


	9. Little Sisters Big Scandals

**Chapter Nine:**

**Little Sisters Big Scandals **

**CASEY**

I walked deep into the forest and kicked rocks around, tears burning my eyes and words burning my heart. I'd wanted to believe, I'd wanted so badly to jump into his arms and kiss him and say "Of course, of course I want to be with you, of course!" But who was I kidding?

Who the hell was I trying to kid?

Why would Derek change just for me?

…

My room seemed foreign to me, so far away from the flimsy mattresses and small windows of the camp cabins. I sat down on the bed and smoothed out the wrinkle-free comforter. Lizzie walked past the door and then back-pedaled, stopping to lean on my doorjamb.

"What's up, Case?"

"Nothing," I said, not even trying to hide the something that was so obviously wrong.

She stepped into the room. "Casey?"

I tried to say something, but I realized my choked voice would betray the tears that were threatening to fall.

All she did was come over and hug me, my head on her shoulder. All it took was her saying, "You don't have to tell me why you're hurting" for my tears to spill over my eyes and fall onto our feet.

**DEREK**

The first thing I did when I walked into my room was look at the window. The blinds were down; a relieved breath escaped my body. I threw my bag onto the floor, kicking it until it was lodged in a pile of clothes.

I flopped onto the bed and didn't know what to do, had no clue what to think.

"Hey, Derek, how was it?" Dad said, leaning into my room.

"Eh."

"Is your homework done?"

"Yes," I lied easily.

"Good. Don't forget to unpack and throw your dirty clothes into the laundry."

"Yeah," I murmured, hoping he would just go away. He eventually did, after just standing there awkwardly, waiting for me to say something.

Marty bounced into my room, squealing my name and trying to hug me. I pushed her away and she stood in front of me, her bottom lip quivering.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Smarty. I just didn't have a very good time at camp."

"Why not?" she asked innocently.

"Girl trouble."

"Hm," she said seriously, furrowing her brow and putting on a thinking face. "I can help!"

A smile tugged at my lips and I chuckled as I asked, "How?"

She motioned for me to come closer and when I did, she cupped her hands around my ear and whispered, "It's easy. Candy."

"Candy?"

"Shh! It's a big secret! Girls love candy."

The image in my head was of Casey walking through her bedroom door only to have buckets of candy fall on top of her. It didn't seem like a good idea. I laughed, gave Marty a kiss on the cheek and said, "I knew there was a reason I called you Smarty."

…

**CASEY**

School was awkward. Not normal, clumsy me awkward, but quiet as I walk through the halls, conversations suddenly stopping as I enter a room awkward.

"Emily," I said in a hushed tone when I caught her at our locker one day. "What the hell is going on? Did I do something wrong?"

She bit her lip and avoided eye contact. "Errrr…"

"Errr?"

"Um…"

This was pissing me off. "Okay, Em, I'm gonna need more than some avoidant syllables."

"It's just that…" she trailed off. I glared at her, cornering her between myself and the locker door. "Um…."

The last sentence was all one word, but as my brain comprehended "DerekandSam," I knew exactly what everybody was being so awkward about.

My shoulders slumped, my spirits going with them. "I guess they have a right to be upset. It was a really bitchy thing to do."

"And slutty. Casey, why didn't you tell me? That's kinda gross!" Emily whispered, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"A lot of girls kiss more than one guy at a time. I really don't think it's that big of deal. Besides, I barely kissed Sam. Come to think of it, I barely kissed Derek!"

Emily was quiet for a few moments before finally saying, "Kiss? That's all it was?"

"Y-yeah! Why? Wh-what did you think?" I stuttered, suddenly scared.

Emily replied slowly. "Casey…everybody is saying that you had sex with both of them at camp."


	10. Lies and Liars

Chapter Ten:

_Lies and Liars_

**CASEY**

My throat went completely dry. I had to swallow a few times before I could speak. "Em! That is not what happened at all!" Each word sounded like its own exclamation.

Emily leaned in really close to me. "So what happened?"

"I kissed them! Barely!" I ran my hand through my hair, suddenly thinking of Derek doing the same thing. I looked down and sighed. "I was kind of with Sam, but I kind of liked Derek. He and I kissed, I told Sam, they both got mad." Tears suddenly sprang to my eyes. "I can't believe people are saying that. I...I have to go to class." I turned and walked away from Emily; I felt like she either didn't believe the truth or she didn't care about it.

I realized that that was how everybody felt.

…

"Casey, Honey, you're so quiet," Mom said, looking at me with her tired, worried eyes.

I looked up from my plate of spaghetti, trying hard not to sigh and just break down. "It's so weird being back home is all," I replied, smiling at her.

She laughed, nodding as she twirled spaghetti onto her fork. "I'm glad you had fun. Plus, it will look great on your resume."

"I'm not really hungry, Mom. Can I just go upstairs?"

"Sure, Sweetie. Just put your plate by the sink, I'll put it in some Tupperware later."

I walked past my mom and Lizzie, stopping short when I realized that our kitchen had a view of the Venturi house. Derek was on the side of house, helping Marty put some flowers in a bucket. I quickly turned away and walked to my room, making sure I closed and locked the door before falling onto my bed and crying my eyes out.

…

**DEREK**

"Hey, D," Sam murmured as he came to lean on the lockers next to mine.

"What's up?"

"Did you hear?"

"I would say my hearing is pretty good."

"No, geez, Derek, did you hear the rumor that's going around?"

I rolled my eyes. "Who cares? Since when have you cared?"

"Since it involved me, you, and Casey."

…

I cornered a random blonde chick. She looked excited and smiled until I said, "Tell me what you know about Casey McDonald."

"I know she's a nerd and that..."

"And that _what_?"

"Th-that she fucked you and Sam."

I could feel my face getting hot and red with rage.

"Have you ever spoken to Casey McDonald?"

She was obviously scared. She shook her head slowly.

"Maybe you should do that before you go around filling your fucking head with more stupid thoughts than are already in there."

…

I knocked on the door to Casey's house, hoping she herself would answer. I let out a big gust of breath when she did. "Casey!"

She just looked at me. "Derek," she replied flatly. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted you to know that I tried to set the record straight today at school," I said proudly.

She took a step backwards. "You…what did you do?"

"I told people that the rumor wasn't true."

"So you started a stupid rumor and then you tried to tell people that it was just a stupid rumor?"

I felt like she slapped me in the face. "Casey. I did not start that rumor."

She scoffed at me. She…fucking _scoffed _at me.

I stepped towards her, making my way into her house. "What the fuck? Why do you not believe me?"

Her eyes looked really shiny; I realized slowly that there were tears forming in them. "Who else would say that?" she said thickly. "Who else would start a rumor that would only hurt me?"

"I don't want to hurt you," I mumbled after an awkward silence. "I've never wanted to hurt you."

A tear escaped her eye. After a tense moment she whispered, "So who did it?"

"Some stupid kid in our cabin who overhead me and Sam talking about you. Just some little dumbass," I said, taking more steps to her.

"Derek," she said, a warning in her voice.

"Mmm?" I reached out and touched her cheek, realizing how badly I wanted to kiss her again, how beautiful and luscious her lips always looked. Especially when she was mad and she pouted them together. Or when she smiled. Or when she just sat in class and paid attention. Or damn. Just always.

She grabbed my hand by the wrist. "I don't know how I feel about you, Derek. I don't want to do this again. Am I a game, are we real, are you going to lose interest once you get me, all these questions are so exhausting."

"Casey," I sighed. "I like you. Can't we just…_try_?"

She bit her lip. It killed me._ I_ wanted to do that. Biting her lip should've been my job.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

She raised an eyebrow and hesitantly dragged out the word "Sure."

"I get enough of most girls after one time. But I really really really want to kiss you," I murmured, getting closer to her with each "really."

She walked into her living room, sat on the couch, and laughed. "I wonder how many girls have heard that."

I sat down next to her and groaned. "Fine, Casey. Fine. I'm leaving. Walk me out?"

She reluctantly got up and walked me to the door.

"Friendly handshake?" I said.

Casey stuck out her hand and I grabbed it, kissing it before she could pull away. I winked and walked away, catching only a soft blush as her reaction.

"Th-that was a bit too friendly!" she softly yelled as I walked away. Oh Casey, you will kiss me again.

…

The next day at school, I saw Casey standing in the lunch line, being harassed by some asshole. I walked up to them and said, "What's up, guys?"

The guy avoided eye contact. "Nothing. I was just talking to her."

I looked at Casey; she looked angry and hurt, embarrassed.

"About what? I like talking. Talk to me."

"Lay off. You already got your chance with her, didn't you?" he snapped, leaning towards me.

"Hey, asshole, I would shut up if I were you. You don't know her. If you did, you would know that those rumors are a fucking joke. And even if they were true, so what? The girls here have done much worse, with many more guys. You know, girls like _your girlfriend._ Why don't you ask _her _what went on at camp?" I ranted, putting my arm around Casey and pulling her closer with each sentence.

"Fuck you!" he shouted. It caught the attention of the principal, who came over and just told the guy to follow him to his office.

I softly chuckled to myself but stopped when I felt Casey pull out of my embrace.

She sighed and I knew that sigh. It was a sigh that meant I'd done something wrong. I knew exactly what was coming next. "Derek. I can defend myself."

"Let me protect you. This involves me too, you know," I replied.

She bit her lip. Fuck, she needs to stop doing that. But she knew I was right. "Okay, okay, thank you."

I just smiled and leaned in to her.

Casey just smiled back and pushed me away. "Now go away so I can eat lunch."


End file.
